Change Is In the Air

Hello all my lovelies!

I decided I have a love/hate relationship with change. You would think I would be used to it by now buuuutttt I'm not. 

Anyways, transfers are always a new fresh start, and Crazy Sister McDowell (yes, she calls herself that haha!) and I have been working hard and trying to spread the gospel to all that will listen, which is not too many at the moment. 

Decatur = the buckle of the bible belt. no joke.

We got some new blood here in Decatur and we're super excited for this transfer.

Elder Leali'ie'e & Elder McMurtry - one goin' home and one just comin'

Elder Mayer (the veteran) and Elder Jordan - both away from their trainers and think they can take over the world

Sister McDowell (one stop short of the loony bin) and Sister Blackner - CRAZINESS! Seriously, all the missionaries we saw at transfer meeting said one thing, "They put you two together??" haha! We're already having a blast!

We have been making some awesome plans each and every day, and e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. falls through. But the lesson that we've learned is to just keep trying! 

And more importantly, what I've learned, is that everyone still has their agency. 

Sometimes I wish that we could just help them all and make their decisions for them since we know it will only ensure their salvation but that would be a little like Satan's plan and we definitely don't wanna go down that road. 

Yesterday, was pretty much the best.day.EVER. 

We went roadtrippin' to Fort Payne for a dunk fest, a.k.a. a baptism

That was the most country I've seen my whole mission, but it was so fun!

Seriously. Out in the boonies.

We watched the CES devotional last night and it was pretty much perfect for missionaries! Here's my thoughts:

I always just wanna lay down the gospel just like Elder Callister did and tell e'ryone wasssup. 

But then I realize that doctrine and all the facts isn't gonna help them gain a testimony. So it's not all about what you know, but it's about what you feel. Sometimes I think we underestimate the power of a sincere and honest testimony.

Flashback to Birmingham:

CELSA IS GETTING BAPTIZED! Remember when her mom moved in and the catholic prayer group started coming over? 

Yup, well Celsa is tired of waiting around for everyone else and getting their approval. She's knows the church is true and she's taking the step. She even brought up back in November when I asked her to commit to a date that was like 10 days away and she freaked out haha! Oops! 

But, it still got her thinking about it and put it in her head and that's important. 

Invite, Invite, Invite!

I finished the Book of Mormon this week after studying it all about CHRIST. His name, His attributes & actions, His words, and His gospel. It was fantastic and my testimony just keeps growing. I seriously love that book! And I know why we're supposed to keep reading it over and over again. I always find new things and am pretty sure they've never been in there before even though I've read it all the way through plenty of times before. 

I think I need to go back to putting my funny line of the week because there are going to be some priceless ones this transfer.

Sister M: It's like heaven when I see a Subway and a Sonic right next to each other. 

For real, they were definitely listening to the Spirit when they did that one

all is well and we're fixin' to make this week a good one!

love y'all muchisimo!

Hermana Blackner

(B minus J is like the peanut butter without the jelly. I miss her already!)